Vengeance Is The Lord’s

Romans 12:19

Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord.

We’ve all come across people who have wronged us in one way or another. It may seem unfair or it may make us angry when they get away with it. As frustrating as it may be, when people actively work evil against us, we are not to avenge ourselves. On the contrary, God calls us to trust Him to set things right, to give people what they deserve. We should recognize that it is not our place to punish those who have wronged us. It is better to trust God to avenge us, for His vengeance is pure and comprehensive. Not only are we to refrain from taking vengeance on those who actively wrong us, but we are to actively do good to them. It could be that by doing this our enemies will feel shame when we do good to them, and perhaps cease their hostility or even be converted as the Spirit uses the shame to bring about repentance. But even if this isn’t the case, our only job is to live peaceably with all people as much as it depends upon us. We are not to give people a legitimate reason to be at war with us. And of course, there are some individuals who will not like us no matter how we act. But at least we won’t carry the heavy burden and poison of hate and resentment because we know the Lord has the final word and just judgment.